1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to furniture construction. More particularly, the present invention relates to a corner construction which incorporates a corner moulding for joining two planar members together to form a rounded corner.
2. Description of the Related Art
Corner mouldings are known in the art that join two planar members together such that the planar members are substantially perpendicular to each other, and the corner moulding provides a rounded edge between the two rectangular edges of the planar members. The prior art corner mouldings include those having elongate bodies, a rounded side, a planar side opposite the rounded side, and a plurality of V-shaped channels (sometimes referred to herein as "docking channels") therebetween. The V-shaped channels of the prior art corner mouldings are formed at a right angle, i.e. 90.degree. (sometimes referred to herein as a "docking angle"), to precisely accommodate (or "dock") the rectangular edge of a planar member.
Thus, the planar members are fitted at their rectangular edges into the 90.degree. V-shaped channels of the prior art corner moulding and then fastened therein. The prior art corner moulding is fastened using such methods as adhesives, dowels fastened within a plurality of holes bored within the corner moulding and the rectangular edge of the planar member, and screws inserted through the lower planar side of the prior art corner moulding and imbedded into the planar member. A rough joint is formed between each outer edge of the planar member and the rounded side of the corner moulding, and such joint requires putty or other filler to be placed therein to cure. Thus, the sealed rough joint prevents any injurious contact from the sharp outer edges of the planar members.
There are other corner mouldings known in the prior art which include a third V-shaped channel opposite the rounded side, where a pair of legs extend to form the V-shaped third channel into which a notched rectangular edge of a planar member fits such that an interior corner is made by the third V-shaped channel when the planar members are attached to the corner moulding. Joints are still present between the sharp outer edges of the planar members and the rounded side of the corner moulding, which still requires putty or other filler to be placed into the joints.
A significant problem with using putty or filler to seal the joint between the sharp outer edges planar members and the rounded side of the prior art corner moulding is that the putty or other filler can degrade over time and fall out, thus presenting one with a sharp edge that requires putty or filling to be used again. Furthermore, when such corner moulding is used in juvenile furniture, where play and interaction by children can provide significant forces and contact with the corner moulding and planar edge, the possibility that putty could fall out of the seam may prove too much of a safety risk and preclude such corner moulding from use in juvenile furniture.
An additional detriment to the prior art corner moulding which includes a third V-shaped channel opposite the rounded side, and a pair of legs to form the third V-shaped channel, is that the planar members require subsequent modification on the rectangular edges to create notches (to fit the legs) of the prior art moulding in order to form the rounded corner with an interior corner therein. Thus, extra time and energy must be expended in order to form such a corner, and the structural detriments (as discussed above) heavily disfavor such usage in situations where significant forces may be applied to the joint, such as in juvenile furniture.
It is thus seen that the prior art has several shortcomings in that to form a satisfactory rounded corner between two planar members, additional time consuming steps must be made. Further, the step of placing putty or filler in the joint between the outer edges of the rounded side and the planar members and/or specially modifying the planar members to fit in a specialized corner moulding only provides a short term solution to the safety and aesthetic problems of sharp edges, and adds cost to the construction of such a rounded corner. The present invention is therefore directed to the provision of a corner moulding that will address and solve these problems and shortcomings of the prior art.